Various systems and devices for infant and adult incontinency monitoring have been previously proposed and implemented to monitor the condition of a diaper, bedding, adult incontinence brief and other similar articles. Today's parents also have an increased desire to instantly know when their infant's diaper is wet or soiled.
Common drawbacks of many existing detection systems are their size, complexity and reliability. There is still an unmet need for devices, systems and methods for monitoring urine and stool secretion of a subject, and optionally alerting a caregiver as to the secretion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,014 to Chia discloses a urine-detecting device adapted to be associated with a baby's diaper, detects and signals the presence of urine after a sufficient time delay from the initiation of urination so as not to interfere with the baby's act of urination. The signal is audio and optionally with visual. The device is aiming at safety, compactness and convenience. It combines sensing means and fastening means with signaling means attached to it. A fastening means such as a safety pin with spaced apart electrical conductors on it is used to engage the device to a diaper. When urine bridges the space between the conductive a detection circuit is completed which activates the signal.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0310192 to Suzuki et al. discloses an excretion detection device that includes a power supply unit having an electrode and an electrode configured by using materials having different ionization tendencies; a solution retention unit configured to retain an electrolyte solution, a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature information, and an active tag including a radio transmission unit configured to transmit the temperature information detected by the sensor to outside the excretion detection device. The electrode and the electrode are installed at a position where the electrodes can be in contact with the bodily waste and the electrolyte solution, and can also be in contact with the electrolyte solution before the excretion of the bodily waste.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the figures.